DJ RIZ

DJ From

Brooklyn,
NEW YORK,
United States

Joseph Rizzo a.k.a. "DJ Riz" was born and raised in Brooklyn. His father bought him his first turntable at the age of 14. The other turntable came from summer job money that he had saved. Riz's parents thought this was just a hobby for him. They were used to watching their son excel as a "3 sport athlete." He started playing organized sports at the age of 8. In High School, Riz played Baseball, Basketball & Football. He was a "1st Team All-City Football Player" who later went on to star at Hofstra University. While his athletic talent was evident, his love for DJing & Music was rapidly growing.

It was in college when Riz first started doing radio. He DJ’d on the famous- 5" Hip Hop show at Hofstra with Jeff Foss. Furthermore, he did "The Hip Hop Spot" with Wildman Steve at Adelphi University. These 2 stations were instrumental in the late 80's & early 90's for numerous talents in Hip-Hop (Ed Lover, Dr. Dre, Public Enemy, De La Soul, Leaders Of The New School etc...) In 1995, Riz brought his DJing talents to WNYU Radio, Where he teamed with Mayhem and DJ Eclipse on a show called "N.Y. Live" & "The Halftime Show" in which they won "Best College Hip Hop Radio Show" at the Gavin Seminar in 1995 & 1997.

Riz was the tour DJ for MC Search (3rd Bass) appearing on the Arsenio Hall show. He was an original member of Funkmaster Flex's "Flip Squad" DJ's and appeared on different commercial radio stations as a guest DJ. Riz also won a 2 man DJ Battle in Chicago with DJ Skribble. Over the years, he has DJ'd in just about every club in the Tri-State area starting from the biggest clubs in Manhattan (Homebase, Palladium, Limelight, Tunnel, Expo etc...) He also DJ's frequently in Vegas, Cancun, Miami, as well as Overseas, not to mention a bunch of celebrity gigs. (Mike Tyson, Marcus Allen, Super Bowl & Pro Bowl, Heidi Klum).

On the Production side of things, Riz teams with his neighborhood friend and partner DJ Sizzahandz. Together, under the name "Crooklyn Clan" they are responsible for the biggest club party anthems Worldwide since 1995. "Be Faithful"(AV8 Records) featuring Fatman Scoop was featured in the movie "Save the Last Dance". The Crooklyn Clan's success has landed them remixes with Sean Paul, Funkmaster Flex, as well as an overseas record deal with Fatman Scoop/Crooklyn Clan. They both can be heard together on WKTU each & every Saturday night at 9 - 10 pm displaying their craziness on the 1's & 2's.

BIO:

1985 After spending countless hours monitoring the likes of the Awesome Two, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl, the Diamond Two, and Red Alert, “DJ Riz” begins his journey into the world of DJing and record collecting
1986-89 Riz spends most of his free time practicing DJ battle routines with Brooklyn area DJ's Clark Kent (Supermen), Richie Rich (3rd Bass), DJ Dice (Das EFX), and DJ Majesty (Da King & I). At the same time he begins making mixtapes and starts performing live at local Canarsie (Brooklyn) block parties and clubs
1990 Riz attends Hofstra University, plays on the school's football team, and competes in both the New Music Seminar and DMC DJ battles. He starts DJing at his first radio show “P 5” on 88.7 WRHU Hofstra University in Long Island NY
1991 He switches to radio station WBAU at Adelphi University with host Wild Man Steve, the home of Public Enemy, Leaders Of The New School, and Original Concept (Ed Lover & Dr Dre)
1992 DJ Riz and Eclipse become MC Serch's tour DJ's and perform live on the Arsenio Hall Show. In the same year Riz releases his first record under the “Brooklyn Slumlordz” name with DJ Skribble and Firstborn of the Young Black Teenagers on the Nervous Records label
1993 Riz meets Funkmaster Flex at the club Homebase in NYC and later is asked to become a member of Flex's Flip Squad DJ crew
1994 The “Hip Hop Spot” weekly radio show at WBAU ends and Riz becomes the DJ for “New York Live” on 89.9 WNYU with Mayhem and later Eclipse
1995 The Crooklyn Clan DJ/Production team is formed with longtime neighborhood friend “Sizzahandz”. The team goes on to produce countless party anthems such as “Be Faithful” (ft. Fat Man Scoop), “The Franklins”, and “Say What” (ft. Stick-E) as well as remixes for Sean Paul, DJ Kool, and Funkmaster Flex
1997 Work begins and is completed on Live From Brooklyn Vol. 1 after longtime friend and record promoter Michael “DJ EMZ” Greene convinces Riz to make a record based on routines he would perform live
2000 Marks the end of Riz's college radio era and he starts on commercial radio station WKTU 103.5 in New York with the weekly “Crooklyn Clan Show” along with Sizzahandz
2006 Riz DJ's worldwide from Hong Kong to Miami and at every major nightclub in NYC. The Crooklyn Clan continues to produce hits while their older records have become club classics and essentials for every DJ to own.

myspace.com/Handsome
crooklynclan.net